BILL BARTLETT, a great Dorsetman, passed away in late July 2011.
I was privileged to shoot an interview with him at Eype on the Dorset coast about his involvement with the Symondsbury Mummers – how the tradition was revived in 1950 and particularly about the film of the Mummers made by the late Peter Kennedy in 1952.
EYPE BEACH near Bridport – part of Dorset’s world-famous Jurassic Coast – is to be sold by West Dorset District Council.
The beach’s value is reckoned by the council to be £1.
“Anticipated proceeds” from the sale of Eype Beach are also officially recorded as £1.
So could you or I buy it for £1?
THE STORY of how a young West Dorset farm labourer came to be murdered in Siberia is uncovered in the November issue of the excellent parish magazine, the Eggardon & Colmer’s View.
The fate of Harry Marsh has been researched, ahead of Remembrance Day, by the military historian Richard Connaughton, who lives in Nettlecombe.
Harry Marsh was born in 1893. He left Powerstock for the Navy in 1912, survived World War I, and was by 1918 a Petty Officer (Stoker) on HMS Carlisle. In the summer of 1919, the ship sailed for Russia. Her mission was to help defeat the Bolsheviks who had led the Russian Revolution.
Harry Marsh was killed on 22 October, 1919, in what Mr Connaughton calls the “lawless frontier port” of Vladivostok.
“He was shot to death whilst walking along a lonely road in Vladivostok by a person unknown. This suggests that Marsh was robbed… He was buried in the Lutheran section of the Pokrovskaya Cemetery.”
This is the barest of summaries. Mr Connaughton’s full article can be found on page 19. (The magazine has plans for a website but nothing at the moment beyond an ‘under construction’ page).
I’ve reproduced some of the facts here, firstly because they show what startling human details lie behind the letters that we see on memorials like the one in Powerstock church that lists ‘H. Marsh. HMS Carlisle’.
Secondly, because Mr Connaughton also mentions a project that I’d never heard of.
This is the UK National Inventory of War Memorials, an archive of Britain’s 100,000 war memorials, which aims eventually to record as much information as possible about every one of them. (The appeal for money to help achieve this, incidentally, is led by Paul Atterbury of BBC Antiques Roadshow fame who has lived for several years in Eype near Bridport, but is now, according to the selfsame issue of the Eggardon & Colmer’s View, moving to Weymouth).
Anyway, the url for the archive is at http://www.ukniwm.org.uk/
There are ten entries for Bridport alone, five for Lyme Regis (including the clock tower in the Cobb Gate car park), and four for Beaminster, including this from St Mary’s church:
In loving memory of/ Cecil Collins Hann/ 2nd Lieut. Royal Flying Corp/ Son of Albert and Edith Hann of Beaminster/ Who was Killed in Action in the air during the Battle of the Somme, Oct. 22nd 1916. Aged 25 years/ His body was laid to rest at Heilly, Mericourt L’Abbe, France
“GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS. THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS” S. JOHN XV.13
A RESPECTED travel writer has protested to West Dorset District Council about planners’ refusal to allow the Downhouse Café at Eype to continue.
Brian Jackman has travelled the world for 40 years and one of his favourite haunts is Nikki and Dean Exton’s café on National Trust farmland at Higher Eype.
Mr Jackman said: “I find it hard to understand that a district council whose residents depend so heavily upon tourism can arrive at such a bizarre decision.”
West Dorset planners decided last month that the café was in “an unsustainable location” for “commercial/tourist and community use”.
Its continuation would cause “additional single purpose trips by car along Downhouse Lane, resulting in congestion and inconvenience to residents due to the single track nature of the lane and lack of passing spaces, to the detriment of the residential amenity of the area.”
Residents in five properties nearby complained – among other things – about having regularly to reverse 100 yards.
The Extons now say they could lose their livelihood and their home. The café was originally part of a farm diversification project, designed to save Down House Farm from what once seemed to be a financially impossible situation on fairly poor coastal pasture land.
Mr Jackman, who lives in West Milton, fears that “one of the West Country’s best loved cafes” could be consigned to oblivion. Downhouse Café is a Taste of the West gold award winner and has featured in numerous publications.
Mr Jackman said that he and his wife went there regularly to watch the Thorncombe Beacon peregrines.
“The food is brilliant and it’s so unobtrusive. One of the establishments which have helped to make Bridport the slow food capital of the Southwest.”
To the council he’s written this: “I have been resident in West Dorset since the late 1960s and have been a regular patron of the Downhouse Farm Café since it first opened more than 10 years ago.
“As a member of the National Trust and Dorset Wildlife Trust with a lifelong concern for the well being of the West Dorset AONB I see no reason why it should not be allowed to continue.
“Certainly its location could hardly be less intrusive, and I am at a loss to understand why permission has been refused on the grounds of its remoteness. If this were true, then countless other locations reached by narrow country lanes – in Dorset and every other corner of Britain – would also be closed down if the same criteria were applied.
“Over the years Downhouse Farm Café has become an invaluable pit stop for walkers exploring the nearby Long Distance Coastal Footpath, and its demise would be a severe blow to the visitors who flock to Dorset’s Jurassic Coast.
“In the circumstances I find it hard to understand that a District Council whose residents depend so heavily upon tourism can arrive at such a bizarre decision.
“Having been a travel writer for the past four decades, writing on eco-tourism and conservation for The Sunday Times and Daily Telegraph, I feel particularly suited to voice this criticism and beg you to think again before you consign one of the West Country’s best loved cafes to oblivion.”
Internal council documents assert that “Sustainable development is the core principle underpinning planning. Development should provide well-designed, safe and accessible development which aims to reduce the need to travel…
“It is preferable for community facilities to be located within villages, and preferably centrally, as such a location has greater potential for convenient and safe access by customers.”
THE BEST SITE around Bridport for a new household recycling centre and waste transfer station is Broomhills, just off the A35.
So concludes the final stage of an independent review of seven possible locations, published this week by Dorset County Council.
Broomhills is just ahead of Gore Cross, on the northern edge of Bridport, and Miles Cross 2 on the town’s western fringe.
Main reasons: land at Broomhills has already been partially developed (it has several commercial scale greenhouses). Broomhills comes out best for air quality and there are few residential properties nearby. It’s on the floor of the Brit Valley and is fairly enclosed, so would have the least impact of all sites considered on Dorset’s Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
Coming to Broomhills? This waste management centre in Whitchurch, Shropshire combines a Household Recycling Centre and transfer and recyclate bulking station similar to that proposed for Bridport. Dorset County Council hopes that Bridport's new facility will also include vehicle parking and depot. Target date for opening is Autumn 2013.
Robert Gould, Dorset County Council’s Cabinet member for the environment, said: “We are committed to finding the most suitable site for a new facility for the people of Bridport and the surrounding area. Of the top three locations, the report concludes that there is no clear ‘winner’ as each site has different constraints.
“Of the seven short-listed sites, Gore Cross and Miles Cross 2 were both assessed as having development potential. However, the findings of the report suggest that Broomhills has greater potential for a new household recycling centre and waste transfer station”.
Consultants took into account the conclusions of technical assessments, public feedback, and consultation with district and parish councils as well as bodies such as the Dorset AONB Partnership.
However, more work is required. Further discussions with the Highways Agency and more detailed traffic studies and access designs are needed.
The Highways Agency must agree that traffic flow along the A35 will not be detrimentally affected. Possible? Consultants suggest that a re-designed access to Broomhills could improve existing arrangements on the A35.
The report’s findings will be presented to Dorset County Council’s cabinet on September 15, with a recommendation that these additional investigations are carried out. Cabinet members must then decide what to do.
Robert Gould added: “Public views played an important part in the final evaluation, so thank you to everyone who provided feedback. In total 290 residents commented on the sites during this stage, and these comments have been incorporated into the overall evaluation of each site.
“In addition, we have received petitions since the end of the latest consultation from Walditch Parish Council and the Eype Recycling Committee. Cabinet members will be made aware of these petitions as part of a report presenting the findings of the Stage 2 report to Cabinet.
“In general, feedback suggested that local people appreciate that Bridport needs a new facility, that no site is perfect and choosing one is challenging. This is reflected in the findings, which show there was support and opposition for all seven sites.”
A county council spokeswoman said that once a site had been chosen for a planning application, public information days would be held. People can also comment after a planning application has been submitted.
A decision on the temporary planning consent for the current household recycling centre in South Street is expected this autumn.
To read the full report visit www.dorsetforyou.com/Bridportstagetworeport
- Six sites shortlisted, including one near the Eype picnic area
- Leading councillor Ronald Coatsworth gores Dorset County Council
- Pressure group NOWTS speaks out
- Well-known Bridport green Leon Edwards calls for leadership and action
- Steve Spear of NOWTS responds to Leon Edwards
- Bridport: Has a site finally been found for a new waste transfer station?
- Bridport waste transfer exhibition: NOWTS’ view – “It’s endgame time”
- Two visitors a minute at Bridport waste transfer show
- New Bridport waste transfer station planned for Autumn 2013
Editor’s Note: The above is based on a press release issued by Dorset County Council.
It will be updated when I’ve had chance to better digest the report.
PHOTOGRAPHS and stories from along the Jurassic Coast of Dorset and East Devon are being sought to help explain the past and perhaps shape the future.
The last Labour Government gave Dorset and Devon county councils, plus numerous partners, £376,500 to explore how seaside communities might adapt to meet the challenges of coastal change.
Dorset and East Devon Coastal Change Pathfinder Project team members now want people to let them have photographs or written accounts of coastal erosion, flooding, storm events and changing coastal defences in Swanage, Ringstead, Preston Beach Road and Bowleze Coveway, Weymouth, Seatown, Charmouth, and Sidmouth and Pennington Point in East Devon.
1930s Scouts look out to sea, but it's the coastline stretching out west past Eype and Seatown that draws the modern eye.
A modern view from the same cliff path as above. Photograph by Stephen Williams, reused under Creative Commons Licence.
Contributions will be used to illustrate how the coast has changed in the past and provide the basis for visualisations of how it may change in the future.
Project coordinator Rupert Lloyd, said: “Perhaps you have a photograph showing how one of these areas looked in the past, or showing a major storm or landslip? Maybe you can provide a written account of how the coast has changed in these settlements?
“These personal accounts will be invaluable to the project and we would love to hear from you.”
Contributions can be submitted – up until the end of September – by email to a.potter@dorsetcc.gov.uk or by post to The Jurassic Coast Pathfinder Team, Environmental Directorate, Dorset County Council, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 1XJ.
Pathfinder Team Note: If you would like your contribution returned please include your postal address. Please note that any information submitted may be used by the project in community engagement activities and future publications. All materials submitted should be copyright free. If you have any questions or require further information, please contact the project team on (01305) 225515.
Editor’s Note: The partners involved in the Dorset and East Devon Coastal Change Pathfinder Project are: Dorset County Council Devon County Council East Devon District Council, Purbeck District Council, West Dorset District Council and Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, parish and town councils, the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Team, Dorset Coast Forum, Devon Maritime Forum, Environment Agency. English Heritage, Natural England, National Trust, Dorset AONB Partnership, environmental groups and local civic societies, RSPB.
SO, in the end, after flocking in at the rate of two a minute, more than 400 people went to Bridport Town Hall to discuss the seven sites short-listed for a new waste management centre in the Bridport area.
Dorset County Council’s exhibition about the sites answered some urgent questions, but raised others.
For example, Steve Burdis, the council’s head of waste management, was able to explain to some people precisely what a waste transfer station is. In particular – and to paraphrase – it is not just another name for a landfill site with endless swarms of swooping gulls eager for tasty crud.
Mr Burdis showed visitors on the second day of the exhibition a picture of a new waste management centre in Whitchurch in Shropshire, which he oversaw before moving to Dorset.
I asked him for a copy of this picture and here it is.
This waste management centre in Whitchurch, Shropshire combines a Household Recycling Centre and transfer and recyclate bulking station similar to that proposed for Bridport. It is hoped by Dorset County Council that the Bridport facility will also include vehicle parking and depot.
It’s worth peering at closely. You might note, for example, how enclosed the main building is; how close it is to the homes just over from the thread of the railway line, between the trees; how much bigger it is than the current Household Recycling Centre (HRC) in South Street, Bridport.
A post-exhibition statement issued by Dorset County Council about this HRC said that residents were curious to know its fate. It only has planning permission until August 31, 2010.
What will happen if it’s forced to close? Especially as a new centre won’t be operational until Autumn 2013 - if everything goes to plan.
The official answer:
“The county council will be submitting a planning application to extend the temporary consent for the HRC for a further three years.
“It is hoped planning permission will be determined during the summer but if not, the site will remain open until a decision has been made.
“In the event that planning permission is not granted, the county council is currently looking at interim solutions to help minimise the disruption and inconvenience to residents should the site have to close.”
Robert Gould, Dorset County Council’s Cabinet member for the environment, commented on another issue.
“Feedback on Friday suggested people would have liked to have seen road design layouts for the seven sites. These are a currently in draft format and more detailed work will be undertaken once a site has been selected.
“However, we displayed the drafts on Saturday and we will also arrange for them to be available on dorsetforyou.com shortly along with the information boards displayed at the exhibition.”
The information boards were useful, in showing for example an aerial view of the location of Lilac Farm, east of Bridport and just north of the A35 on the so-called Walditch Plain.
Mr Gould went on: “We welcome the comments received and the feedback forms will be reviewed over the coming weeks and incorporated into the Stage 2 report due for completion during the summer.
“For those that took a form away the deadline for responses is 28 May 2010.”
The findings of the Stage 2 report will be presented to county council cabinet members this summer. They will decide which site should seek to advance through the planning system.
This is the timetable. Remember that people can comment on planning applications.
For further information from the county council visit www.dorsetforyou.com/westwasteplan
- Six sites shortlisted, including one near the Eype picnic area
- Leading councillor Ronald Coatsworth gores Dorset County Council
- Pressure group NOWTS speaks out
- Well-known Bridport green Leon Edwards calls for leadership and action
- Steve Spear of NOWTS responds to Leon Edwards
- Bridport: Has a site finally been found for a new waste transfer station?
- Bridport waste transfer exhibition: NOWTS’ view – “It’s endgame time”